


Just lab gals being good pals

by Scorp96



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Kyoshi/Rangi - Fandom, Rangshi - Fandom, The Rise of Kyoshi
Genre: Alternate Universe- Modern Setting - Freeform, Cheesier than you could imagine, F/F, Fluff, Kissing, Kyoshi is great and all but she becomes a tad forgetful and a talented klutz when Rangi is around, Lab!, Mutual Pining, No Smut, Rangi is also a bit clumsy, Rangi is smart and kind and explains to Kyoshi how to work in a tissue culture hood, These 2 become dumb when they are together, but they work very well as a pair, gals being pals wink wink, modern!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:22:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25337572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scorp96/pseuds/Scorp96
Summary: As it says on the tin 😉
Relationships: Kyoshi/Rangi (Avatar), Rangshi
Comments: 8
Kudos: 58





	Just lab gals being good pals

**Author's Note:**

> This write up is inspired by my life as a Microbiology student doing a group project on studying a specific protein called Nef (Negative Factor) from HIV-1. It is one of the many proteins produced by HIV-1 to make it survive within us, therefore causing an infection by manipulating cell signals and supporting the virus life-cycle. Overall, it makes the virus extra nasty. Majority of the events were real, excluding the romance and teamwork 😂
> 
> The Team A in this fic is the team I wish I had had! 
> 
> Rangi, Kirima, Kyoshi and Wong are around 22 years old. 
> 
> Since I have a decent amount of knowledge to write a lab scenario, I decided to write it, my very first fan fic. I kept it as simple as possible and it will kind of give a glimpse into what goes down in an actual lab. Fancy words are under Notes at the end of this fic, like a glossary.
> 
> I highly recommend using headphones to listen to the instrumental pieces mentioned in this write-up to soak in all the goodness. Winter Ducks Play on Water is by Hong Ting and Four Seasons in Kyoto is by Chikatoyo Tsujimoto.
> 
> I was supposed to release this fic during the late summer of 2019 but I was in my final year of university and *things* happened, if you know what I mean. But here it is anyway, as promised.
> 
> I am open to constructive criticism and please be kind to me, I did my best 🙂
> 
> Lastly, but definitely not the least, I would like to thank my sister (AO3 name: excelsior_scribbles) for pointing out my many dumb mistakes and giving me this idea.
> 
> Thank you for your patience and happy reading! 😄

**_Friday, 12:50 pm_ **

Team A sit at the university cafe where it is warm and close by to where they have to go later so they don’t have to scramble through the crowd. The air is filled with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee, toasted paninis and croissants, and the voices of students discussing their plans for the week, sharing ideas for an experiment and some casual talk on how university life has left them capable of running on just 2-3 hours of sleep.

“Is it all right if I be the leader for next week's experiment?” Rangi suggests to the group and it doesn't take long for the others to voice their agreement.

“Great,” Rangi says, happy that they agreed, “Wong and Kirima will do the second half of the experiment where they will prepare the coverslips to be viewed at the bioimaging facility. Will that fit in your schedule for 10 next Wednesday?”.

“That works for the both of us.” Wong confirms after discussing it with Kirima since they both study different subjects, biological sciences and biochemistry, respectively. Whereas Rangi, is a microbiology student and Kyoshi does biological sciences just like Wong.

The reason Rangi volunteers to be the leader is because she found out that none of her teammates knew how to work in a tissue culture hood. She is confident with the technique which only microbiology students had the opportunity to do in their 2nd year. She also strengthened her foundation by working at a dynamic lab environment during a summer internship at the university.

She sees this as an opportunity to help her team understand the purpose of certain reagents in preparing these kind of samples and promises to send them some videos on the group chat. Rangi, in a way, is a good leader and frankly, it’s hard to find great leaders these days.

“Thank you for explaining the experiment, Topknot. We gotta bounce!” Kirima chrips while she and Wong pack their bags so they can head to their lecture at 2:15 pm.

“Sure thing, but can you like stop calling me that?”

“Can’t stop, won’t stop.”

“Please leave.” Rangi shoos Kirima away, a smile tugging at her lips.

“See you guys around!” Wong throws back to them as he herds Kirima out of the cafe to avoid getting a earful from their lecturer who happens to be cranky when it comes to students arriving late.

“See ya! And let me know in the group chat if you have any doubts, I will try to answer them ASAP.” Rangi waves at them till they disappear into the crowded elevator. Kyoshi also waves at the two, lips pursed to hold in her laughter.

“Now it’s just the two of us. How about we discuss our plan for Tuesday?” Rangi rummages through her bag to get out her copy of the protocol.

“Yes, just the two of us.” Kyoshi eyes the wispy strands of black hair that rest against Rangi’s soft fair skin and the loose topknot held up by a silky crimson bow. Kyoshi can't help but find Rangi beautiful as she sits there reading through the protocol, elbow on the table and her chin resting in her palm. She looks around the cafe, but mostly steals glances of Rangi since no one is around to poke fun and tease her. _Especially_ Kirima.

“So for starters, do you know what transfection is, Kyoshi?” Rangi questions while looking up from her reading.

“Umm,” Kyoshi mutters unintelligently, eyes still tracing the curve of Rangi's cupid bow, “I um— I think it’s a technique where the DNA is mixed with a sort of agent which will easily transport it to the cells of interest, with little to no damage done.”

“Almost correct, but not bad. Looks like someone has done her homework.” Rangi remarks, seemingly pleased with her friend’s answer.

Kyoshi accepts the compliment with a smile.

When not being rendered stupid by Rangi's presence, Kyoshi's actually pretty smart. She's usually seen as intimidating, her height playing a big part in that, but when Rangi is around, she feels different around her. Happier. Rangi even loves receiving hugs from her, saying that she gives great hugs so being tall really isn't so bad.

Rangi and Kyoshi have been _close_ friends since the start of their degrees. It all started when Rangi sat next to Kyoshi during their first ever lecture, watching her as she took notes. By the end of the lecture, Rangi couldn't stop fawning over how neat Kyoshi's notes were. Kyoshi warmed at the praise and managed a shy thank you before she hastily left, heart racing in her chest. They began to meet up at libraries and cafes within campus to help each other understand the lectures they attended together, share notes and even recommend supplementary reading materials and sites they get free access to journal articles and books.

They happened to meet Kirima and Wong during their lectures in those first 2 years and have become good friends since.

Sometimes Kyoshi questions her friendship with Kirima, the girl always finding something to tease her about. One time Kirima saw Rangi and her outside the library, laughing over something and holding hands. She skipped up to them, a knowing grin on her face as she said that they made a really cute couple. Kyoshi still feels her face heat up at the memory, at how beautiful Rangi looked as she left in a flustered haste, her cheeks as red as her favourite silk ribbon.

“So...formaldehyde, what does it do, again?” Kyoshi asks Rangi, focusing back on what they were doing.

“It causes the cells in the tissue culture plate to form cross-links, hence fixing and making them ready for staining and viewing.” Rangi shoots back, her eyes never straying from her work.

“All right, thank you.” Kyoshi notes it down on her printed copy.

“Okay,” Rangi says, finally looking up at Kyoshi, “Do we have the concentration of the 3 separate plasmids containing normal Nef gene, NefA gene and Empty?”.

“Yes, I have them right here.” Kyoshi hands her the journal she wrote the concentrations in from their previous experiment.

“The calculations are simple, we just need to determine the volume for each of these such that they are equal to 2.5 micrograms so we can mix them accordingly with the given volumes of Opti-MEM and FuGENE HD.”

Kyoshi gets right to doing the neccessary calculations, head bowed over her calculator in concentration.

Rangi watches Kyoshi work, eyes adoring as Kyoshi tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. Rangi desires to be the one to do that for her, to feel the softness of Kyoshi’s hair and maybe even the softness of her lips against hers.

"Done!" Kyoshi exclaims, handing over her calculations. The suddeness of it startles Rangi from her musings, a flush riding high on her cheeks. She moves to take the sheet from Kyoshi, their fingers momentarily brushing against each other, and she somehow feels her cheeks getting even redder from the contact.

“They're perfect, Kyoshi." Rangi assures, "Make sure to put 'em up on the group chat for the other two to see."

“Guess my math skills aren't so bad after all.” Kyoshi sighs in relief, a smile on her lips.

“You need to be more confident, Kyoshi. Give yourself the credit you deserve!”

By the time the sun sets over the horizon, Kyoshi and Rangi manage to finish going through the entirety of the protocol. They begin to clear up having to leave for their last lecture. Before they move to leave, Kyoshi even clears the table of any crumbs while Rangi watches, unable to suppress her fond smile at the sight.

Since they share the same lecture, they head out together, already making plans for the weekend as they go.

Rangi and Kyoshi reach the lecture theatre found within the brutalistic-looking building that houses the cafe, waiting at a spot where the stairs curve in a way such that they wouldn’t obstruct students and lecturers coming out from the lecture halls.

“Third year is hell but at least I have you to keep me sane till the end of this degree.” Kyoshi smiles and pats her friend's shoulder.

“True, I can say the same for you as well.” Rangi replies, casting a grateful smile towards Kyoshi.

People start to pour out of the lecture theatres. Some people look a bit groggy like they woke up from bed which could mean that either they did not get enough sleep, partied too hard and got a hangover or their lecturer was boring. When the hall emptied out, they walk in and sit together with the rest of the students, waiting for their lecturer to show up and finish the lecture at 5 pm. An end for a busy autumn day.

* * *

Rangi reaches her university accommodation at around 5:30 pm. The delay was because the people coming out of the lecture halls decided it was perfectly all right to stand right in the way and have a good chat with their friends. She was just ready to push them out of her way, but Kyoshi gently laid her hand on her shoulder to calm her and convinced her to just ignore them. But deep down, Kyoshi was pissed too.

Rangi opens the door to her studio, finally back, the whole room to herself although a bit lonely. After freshening up, she finishes eating her spicy hot pot, does the dishes and lazes around for a bit. She sits on her bed with her mobile to search for YouTube videos on how to work in a tissue culture hood and preparing coverslips for confocal microscopy.

After a while of searching and watching them to see if they cover up the steps necessary for the experiment, she shares the videos to the group chat. Rangi then looks for the picture of the volumes calculated by Kyoshi so she could copy them onto her printed instructions for next week. She shuts down the lights and turns the lamp on at her desk, creating a warm glow at her workspace and fading into the darkness of the living room and kitchen.

After everything is set up, Rangi plays her favourite guzheng piece, Winter Ducks Play on Water, at a low volume on her tablet because the walls are made of gypsum board and doesn’t want to disturb her neighbours late at night and it was already 10 pm.

While the music plays, Rangi writes the numbers down carefully into the table in her printed copy but she slowly drifts away into her own little world along with the guzheng piece, thinking about her friend Kyoshi again. The pencil gradually leaves her grasp and falls onto the table, bringing Rangi back to reality when a loud thud from the other side of the wall startles her.

_No, no, no! We are just friends._ Rangi tries to shake the thought of having such amorous feelings for her friend. She looks down at her instruction sheet and it turns out that she has made a mistake while copying. Rangi slaps her forehead, erases the mistake and thanks herself for not using a ballpoint pen, otherwise, she wouldn’t sleep until a fresh page is printed to replace it as she cannot tolerate scratching her errors out which would make it rather untidy.

After making the necessary corrections, she keeps the protocol safely in her plastic folder, tidies up her desk and prepares herself for bed. She slips under her duvet and turns off the lights at her bedside. Something immediately strikes her mind— she has been picking up on Kyoshi’s cleaning habits. Normally she finds herself to be a bit messy, but she has become quite keen in keeping her room clean more than usual. Rangi rolls over to smother her face into her pillow, letting out a muffled groan of frustration, so very obviously in denial.

**_Weekend_ **

Kyoshi and Rangi continue to do bits of their assignments closer to their submission dates and make sure to stock up on some food for the coming weeks. Rangi's phone at her work desk notifies her about the message from the lab group chat.

**Good man** **Wong 👍**

Thanks for the videos, Rangi! At least I know for sure that we will do just fine in the coming week’s experiment 😃”

**Ultimate Dweeb™**

thnx 4 the calculations kyoshi!

**Rangi 😎🥋**

No problem! 😎

**My Sweetheart 💖😩**

Anytime!

So far, none of the group members have doubts regarding the experiment and the weekend passes.

**_Monday, 12 pm_ **

A dreadful Monday begins. Kyoshi and Wong get to meet as they share the same modules and talk about their weekend and some casual chit-chat. Kirima and Rangi have slightly different modules but they don’t get to see each other because their lectures are across the massive campus. In that way, neither Rangi nor Kyoshi have to deal with Kirima’s shenanigans in the middle of a class.

Their day ends and they go back to their dorms.

Rangi and Kyoshi go through their part of the experiment once more for tomorrow’s lab session that’ll start at 11 am till 1 pm. It’s way better than 9 am.

**_Tuesday, 10:30 am_ **

Kyoshi feels excited about doing the experiment. She reaches the building where the experiment will happen, leaves her belongings in a locker and takes the protocol, pencil case and locker keys to the lab. She fishes for a decent-looking lab coat from a large drum labelled “Red- Extra Large” and gets a red collar type because of her height and that is the largest size available.

After putting on her lab coat, Kyoshi picks a shallow rubber tub, fills it halfway up with ice pellets and borrows a mini-tube rack to put in the three 1.5 ml tubes from the box kept in the freezer which contains plasmids carrying Nef, Nef A and GFP-only expressing genes for thawing and preserving them.

Rangi shows up soon after to see Kyoshi with the samples chilling in a rubber tub on the table. She notices that her friend’s hair is loosely braided. Leaving long hair open or not properly secured is a big no-no in the lab.

Happy to see her friend, she calls out while hunting for a medium lab coat, “You look quite enthusiastic for someone who considers mornings evil.”

“I am just curious about this experiment since I have never done it before and you are also here to help.” Kyoshi replies, trying to be bold for once and not get easily flustered.

“That’s what lab partners are for.” Rangi flashes Kyoshi a cheeky wink while buttoning up her coat.

She turns her back to Kyoshi to check her phone in case either Kirima or Wong sent a message in the chats, completely forgetting to settle her upturned collar. Feeling restless, Kyoshi decides to fix it for her.

Rangi notices her finish fixing the twisted collar and manages to catch Kyoshi’s hand as she moves to pull away, “Thanks, Kyoshi.”

“It’s fine!” Kyoshi responds quickly, a blush colouring her cheeks.

Eventually, others began to gather till they are escorted by the supervisor to the tissue culture lab. Three pairs of students, including Rangi and Kyoshi, put on their gloves and start the experiment in one of the active fume hoods.

“Watch me, Kyoshi.” Rangi instructs while holding a paper towel, sprays it with some alcohol and wipes the metal workspace from back to front in a sweeping motion and the inner and outer sides of the glass sash.

“That’s how you clean it.” Rangi says proudly to Kyoshi as she sits down comfortably, ready for the transfection.

“I will remember that.”

“Good, even if the person before you wiped it down, you will still do it, only after the hood is turned on and stops beeping.”

“Got it.”

“Great! Now bring the 6-well plate with the HeLa cells from the incubator.”

Kyoshi goes to the mini-fridge sized incubator, opens the heavy metal door and then a glass door to retrieve a plate of cells. The glass door is present in case someone is trying to look for their plate without disturbing the balanced temperature and carbon dioxide levels.

“Now wipe it with a damp towel.” Rangi guides.

“Dampen it with what?”

“Alcohol, Kyoshi. _Alcohol_.”

“Okay, sorry for asking that.” Kyoshi wipes down the plate carefully next to Rangi, trying her best not to drop it, which she almost does.

“I need you to be attentive.” Rangi looks at her keeping the plate in the hood.

“All right, I’m all ears”

“Okay now listen, you will need to bring the plasmid samples in their holder and wipe them carefully so you do not erase the labels on those tubes.”

“Sure.” Kyoshi sticks the tubes in ice, wipes the rack, keeps it in the hood, and later disinfects the tubes with their labels still visible otherwise it would be an utter disaster.

“You are doing good!” Rangi encourages, “Now you can get the other things.”

“Thanks, I‘ve got the hang of it.” Kyoshi says happily, feeling confident. But that surge of confidence goes downhill when she drops 3 of the 15 ml tubes right after disinfecting them. Rangi nearly face-palms but she stops that from happening because touching the face with gloves on can be bad, clean or not. Safety is important.

“I thought you got the hang of it.” Rangi tries to sound polite but a little of her irritation still manages to bleed through. _Why is she being like this? I have never seen her behave this way for the past 2 years...or is it only around me?_ Rangi wants to understand what is going on in Kyoshi’s head but now isn’t the time for that.

“Sorry!” Kyoshi apologises and frantically proceeds to disinfect 6 of the 15 ml tubes after keeping a sanitised rack for them in the workspace.

“Please get it together, Kyoshi.” Rangi says calmly when her lab partner finally gets to sit down. Kyoshi notices the neat arrangement of equipment in the hood— pipettes on the right, plate at the centre and tubes and reagents on the left for the perfect workflow.

After keeping all the disinfected items in the cabinet, Kyoshi pulls out a fine-tip permanent marker which has a label at the end so it doesn’t get lost. She disinfects and keeps it on the cold metal surface of the workspace for Rangi to label the tubes with.

“Looks like someone came prepared, huh?” Rangi asks while checking the protocol, glancing at Kyoshi who nods her head.

“Fine then, let’s get down to business. I will start labelling the lid of this 6-well plate and then these 6 tubes.” Using the marker, Rangi labels the plates accordingly.

After labelling the plate and tubes, Rangi shows Kyoshi where the coverslips are exactly present— at the bottom of the plate and nearly invisible, unless you looked at them by carefully angling it in a manner that the tissue culture media (basically liquid food for cells) does not pour out and create a mess.

“These coverslips are circular in shape and are dang thin hence making it difficult to grab with forceps. You need to be patient and careful.” Rangi informs. Kyoshi nods and makes a mental note of it along with the video she saw over the weekend.

Rangi shifts the plate far into the workspace to lower the chances of contamination.

“This experiment has 8 steps. I will do the first 4 so you can see how I am doing it and you can do the remaining half. That okay with you?” Rangi asks.

“That’s fine with me.” Kyoshi agrees as she brings her chair closer to her partner so she can watch closely.

Contents of the tubes are prepared as per the protocol.

She closely observes how Rangi unscrews the cap of each tube and holds both of them with her left hand, the pipette with the other, dispenses Opti-MEM into them and then placing the secured tubes back in the rack with such efficiency. Opening tubes like that is all part of the aseptic technique done to minimise contamination and this comes with practice and eventually it becomes a habit.

“Another point to note is that you should not move too fast in a fume hood as that will disrupt the laminar flow of air. This will cause it to beep like crazy until it comes back to normal.” Rangi advises.

Kyoshi seems to be keeping up with everything Rangi says and Rangi is clearly impressed. She makes sure to let Kyoshi know.

“You’re doing really well, Kyoshi, I’m impressed.”

“Nothing is difficult when you are the one doing the explaining.” Kyoshi points out. Rangi feels her cheeks heat up at the compliment, hands fumbling as she tries not to spill the tube’s contents.

All six tubes now contain Opti-MEM. Appropriate volumes of plasmids are then mixed into their respective tubes followed by FuGENE HD.

Rangi gently shakes the tubes to allow the plasmid to mix with the transfection agent and asks Kyoshi what time does the 15-minute incubation end. Kyoshi looks at the clock to see when the 15 minutes will be up, informs her and writes it down on the protocol to remember so she can remove the cell media and add the mixture to the wells to complete the transfection experiment.

They swap seats. Kyoshi lowers her seat a bit to make herself comfortable and Rangi disinfects her hands and keeps the protocol and other stuff they brought along on her lap. The other three teams are still waiting their turn.

“When adding a tube’s contents into a well with the pipette, make sure it’s tip is touching the walls of the well and gently dispense it. You don’t want to pressure-wash the cells off from the well. Also, after removing the media, be quick, the cells should’t dry up.” Rangi says, making Kyoshi a bit nervous but she regains her composure because no task was impossible for her to do and says, ”I will do my best.”

When the incubation nearly comes to an end, Kyoshi disinfects her gloved hands, removes all the cell media and disposes the tip in the end into a specific jar filled partially with a particular kind of disinfectant called virkon. Next, she picks a pipette in the workspace which has the right volume range to take up 0.25 ml of the mixture.

Kyoshi begins with the Control mixture. She checks the pipette once more to confirm that the right volume is set and inserts the tip into the tube.

“Be careful and be quick.” Rangi warns.

“Don’t worry! You can never be too careful.” Kyoshi confidently says as she mistakenly drops the opened tube but thankfully it falls right back into its original spot in the rack and not onto the open workspace or they would have a big mess on their hands. Literally. It felt like their hearts were about to beat out of their chests.

“Are you for real?” Rangi’s voice fills with irritation and looks into her partner’s eyes, pleading for another mishap not to occur.

“I swear, I am not like this in the lab.” Kyoshi avoids Rangi's gaze, feeling like she let her friend down.

“I know! Buy why now of all times?”

“Can we discuss this later? Please?”

“Fine.” Rangi grumbles and crosses her arms, breathing out a sigh of frustration. She finds Kyoshi’s new-found clumsy behaviour odd and hopes she can figure her out.

Kyoshi adds the contents of all six tubes into their respective wells in a drop-wise manner and changes the tips when she has to deal with different samples to avoid cross-contamination.

“Good work! That wasn't so hard now, was it?” Rangi happily pats Kyoshi on the shoulder.

“It wasn’t.” Kyoshi's glad that it’s over, finally done with unintentionally infuriating Rangi. She can't stand seeing or making her friend upset.

Kyoshi labels the plate with their initials ‘R+K’ and ‘Team A’ on the lid and side of the plate. She returns it safely back into the incubator for the 24-hour incubation.

Rangi volunteers to take out the used tubes for disposal and wipes down the entire laminar flow cabinet for the other team to use.

When everything's back in order, they head out to get their stuff from the locker.

“Look, I am sorry for being a total klutz back there and I didn’t mean to make you mad.” Kyoshi apologises, hands fiddling with the buttons on her coat.

“I forgive you but I must also admit that I nearly dropped a tube back there. Not everyone is perfect!”

“You really did a good job of hiding it back there.” Kyoshi playfully punches Rangi in the right shoulder.

“Ow! That hurt.” Rangi pretends to be in agony.

“Nice try, Rangi.”

“Fine, you got me.” Rangi pouts while pulling on her black pilot jacket.

They leave the building and walk across the campus, the sky a bit overcast and cold. While passing by the artificial pond, Rangi sends an update in the group chat to let Kirima and Wong know about how it went and what were the contents of the plate. Soon after, Wong and Kirima send their thanks to them followed by an interesting question from Kirima on whether Kyoshi and Rangi are going on a date since they were done for the day to which Rangi replies with a ‘NO!’ and Wong had to jump in to tell Kirima to stop teasing them.

While Rangi was busy glaring at her phone, Kyoshi notices a large group of students who need to pass and there was nowhere else to go considering the narrow path except the side with the trees and benches. So she decides to grab Rangi by her waist and pull her to the side, right between the benches. Kyoshi holds Rangi close to her chest and they both look at each other, their ears muting all the sound around them. Their little moment, however, gets interrupted by a sudden downpour and they have to quickly move before they end up sopping wet. Their faces still retain an embarrassing shade of red from their earlier proximity all the way till they find a suitable shelter from the rain.

They manage to get into a cafe where they decide to wait out the rain. There weren’t many people around which was an added bonus.

“I did not get to apologise earlier. Properly, that is. So I am sorry for sounding rude at the lab. Also, I really can’t stay mad at you for that long, so yeah.” Rangi glances at the floor, a hand against her nape.

“It's okay, I know you didn’t mean to.”

“But I still don’t know why you were being like that, you were going to give me a reason, right?”

“Well...umm...I just get really overwhelmed when people stare at me while I am doing my work. That is all.”

“Really? I have seen you do experiments before without being clumsy like you were today. You can tell me, it’s all right.” Rangi’s eyes plead for answers but she doesn’t want to make Kyoshi any more uncomfortable than she already is.

“That is the truth. What more do you want?” Kyoshi’s reply is curt, she even sounds a little irritated, but it’s only because she’s afraid to admit her true feelings towards her closest friend.

_Rangi does make a good point though._ She thinks.

Rangi stands there silently, looking at her boots and feeling a bit sad and unsatisfied with Kyoshi’s response.

Kyoshi leaves from the nearest exit as soon as the rain stops. Rangi tries to catch up with her but she loses Kyoshi in the crowd. She stands near the pond, tears welling in her eyes as she regrets pushing Kyoshi for answers she wasn’t willing to give yet.

“I am so sorry, Kyoshi.” Rangi whispers as tears fall from her flushed cheeks onto the wet stone of the pavement.

Both of them go back to their rooms feeling miserable and face wet with tears.

Regarding Kirima and Wong, they don’t seem to have a doubt about next day’s continuation of the experiment at 10 am. They finish going through the protocol, annotating the different incubation periods mentioned in specific steps and noting the contents of the wells. After their preparation and their day’s work, they finally go to bed, curious about what is going to be the result from the facility on Friday.

**_Wednesday, 10 am_ **

Kirima, Wong and the other pairs from the five teams are taken to the tissue culture lab where the first half of the experiment had been conducted. Kirima cleans up the hood just like how the scientist in the video and Rangi did, disinfects the equipment and their tissue culture plate, while Wong volunteers to begin the experiment by washing the cells with a special type of saline solution and then fixing them with para-formaldehyde. The remainder of the experiment is successfully taken care by Kirima.

“Do you think Kyoshi and Rangi make a cute couple?” Kirima gleefully asks Wong while trying to carefully pry the last coverslip from the well with a pair of forceps with bent ends.

“They absolutely do," Wong agrees, "but I would prefer it if they just told us themselves rather than you sounding like a paparazzo chasing them for answers.”

“It was only twice!"

“Actually, you have done this _at least_ fifteen times ever since we met those two.” Wong points out, aiming a knowing look at Kirima.

“Fine, I will stop. That is a promise and I will not go against it.” Kirima says while rolling her eyes as she mounts the coverslip after letting it dry on a clean paper towel.

“Much better. That also includes confronting them on mobile.”

“Ugh!” Kirima shoves her phone back into the pocket of her lab-coat while glaring at Wong who seems pleased as punch at catching her being sneaky without having to turn around.

The pair clear up the workspace and Kirima responds to a message in the group chat as they leave the building.

💪 **Bi(?) Baby™ 🍑💦**

What about the time slot on Friday to view them?

**Dumb of ASS 😎**

it will be at 9 pm 😃 

😈 **Top Knot** 🍆💦

I call that rubbish!

**Dumb of ASS 😎**

jk! 😜 it will be at 2:15 pm 4 all of us to drop by the bioimaging facility 

**Cream of** 🍄 

Seriously, Kirima?

**Dumb of ASS 😎**

just tryin to lighten up the mood here since 3rd yr is kinda slowly killing us. geez! tough crowd 😒 

💪 **Bi(?) Baby™ 🍑💦**

It’s fine! Don’t have to be so uptight, guys

**Dumb of ASS 😎**

thnx kyoshi! 😁 finally someone who agrees with me 

😈 **Top Knot** 🍆💦 

Alright. Thanks for the update 😄

**Cream of** 🍄 

No problem!

**Dumb of ASS 😎**

its fine! see you all soon 

💪 **Bi(?) Baby™ 🍑💦**

See you all on Friday 😃

😈 **Top Knot** 🍆💦

Yup! Bye for now

**_8:25 pm_ **

Rangi and Kyoshi are busy trying to complete a portion of their assignment back in their rooms, their hearts still heavy from what happened the previous day. Kyoshi decides to grab her phone to message Rangi so they can get it over with already.

**Bi Disaster** ☣ 

Hey! Are you doing fine? 

💗💖✊😩💞💘

Hello, Kyoshi! Doing good. Yourself?

**Bi Disaster** ☣ 

Just okay. I want to apologise about what went down yesterday, I didn’t mean to sound rude and run off 

💗💖✊😩💞💘

It wasn’t your fault! I didn’t mean to press you for answers and as your friend, I should have known better. So, I apologise for what I did. Are you still angry at me?

**Bi Disaster** ☣ 

Honestly, I really can never stay mad at you for too long. I forgive you 

💗💖✊😩💞💘

You are too kind, Kyoshi. Thank you. Oh! One more thing, can I come over to your place this Friday to complete the journal with you? Is that okay?

**Bi Disaster** ☣ 

No problem! Will 7 pm do fine? 

💗💖✊😩💞💘

That shall work! See you soon, Kyoshi 😚

*😊

**Bi Disaster** ☣ 

😳

see u friday ranig

**_Thursday, 9 am_ **

Rangi rolls around in bed, her bob a tousled mess. She lazily reaches for her phone on the bedside drawer to check what day and time it is and turns out she doesn’t have to go to university. Rangi keeps her phone back, switches to a more comfortable position and goes back to sleep feeling content but at the back of her mind she wonders how Kyoshi is going to survive this ordeal without her.

Kyoshi, Wong and Kirima have to attend the early morning lecture, a torture for Kyoshi since she doesn’t have Rangi to help her stay awake and bear the lecture for a whole hour. She also prays that Kirima doesn’t come to tease her, which doesn’t happen as Kirima remembers the promise she made to Wong.

Kyoshi struggles to keep herself awake while the lecturer rambles on in a monotonous tone. She nearly bonks her head on the table while dozing off, thankfully the lecturer does not notice that. She begs time to go faster and is also overcome by a mighty need for sleep in this fine cold weather. Kyoshi can't bring herself to write in this complete state of grogginess because the notes will end up being ugly, illegible and unbearable to look at, hence, resulting in its immediate disposal, never to grace her sight with its sheer hideousness, ever. It has happened before during her first year, also a 9 am lecture, and it did not go well as the notes looked like she made another language when she tried to read them. Therefore, she vows not to waste paper and ink to produce such gibberish mid-sleep in any class.

She glances at the clock now and then to see how long she can pull through this educational horror without her friend. She supports her head on both palms, doing her very best to keep her heavy eyelids open to avoid embarrassing herself.

Her eyes immediately flutter open when she notices that 5 minutes remain on the wall-mounted clock above Dr Boring. A sudden rush of energy keeps her awake for the last 5 minutes until she gets up and takes off to her dorm so she can burrow back into her warm bed. Kirima and Wong watch Kyoshi briskly walk out of the lecture theatre.

“What’s up with her?” Kirima asks while packing up her stuff.

“She definitely looked sleepy judging from the effort it took to keep herself awake.” answers Wong.

“Alright, that makes sense, _or_ , she misses Rangi?”

Wong rubs his forehead with his fingertips as he sighs and walks away.

“Come on! I know you agree with me and I did not tease either of them at all.” Kirima tries to catch up to Wong.

**_Friday, 1 pm_ **

Team A members attend their first lecture of the day, a blessing than to have it at 9 am.

Kyoshi and Rangi sit and enjoy each other’s company. Kirima and Wong sit one row behind the oblivious pair, Kirima doing her hardest to control herself from questioning them while Wong holds her hand on the table, assuring her that she will make it through the entire day.

A not-so-boring-yet-bearable lecturer enters to begin the lecture and everyone gradually stops talking about their Friday night plans.

The lecture soon comes to an end after an hour; everyone leaves and Team A happily heads out to check on their slides.

They arrive at the bioimaging facility where they enter a dimly lit room which houses the massive Zeiss LSM700 Inverted Microscope, the one which will view their samples, and two other microscopes. Researchers are busy manipulating and studying their samples, lost in their own work.

A microscopy specialist and their supervisor welcomes the team.

“Please grab some chairs and begin the viewing of your specimens” the specialist instructs the students gathered around her.

“I guess you are all Team A, right?” the supervisor asks.

“Yes, that's us.” Wong politely replies as he sits on the chair.

“Perfect!” the specialist picks up one of their Control slide, adds a counter stain called DAPI to view the nuclei and places it on a platform for the microscope to examine it using lasers.

Rangi jots down their results and the duplicates didn’t have to be viewed because they got what they expected, all thanks to everyone who showed effective team work.

Thanking the specialist and their supervisor, they leave for their lockers.

“Looks like what we hypothesised earlier was correct. Good work team!” Kyoshi joyfully calls out while pulling on her grey trench coat. They all felt great about the experiment's outcome and their effort put into obtaining them.

“As soon as we get the images uploaded from the facility, I will begin working on them for our research paper so we don’t have to do it at the last minute as I will take some time to find my way around GIMP and InkScape.” Kirima informs the team as they leave the building.

“Sounds like a plan! Also, let us know in advance if you have any trouble so we can help you.” Rangi tucks her hands in the pockets of her jacket because her hands are freezing.

“Thanks, Topknot! You're the best. Gotta skedaddle!” Kirima takes off and Rangi gives her the stink eye.

Wong thanks Rangi and Kyoshi before going after Kirima. Now it’s just the two of them, again.

“Let’s head over to the cafe, shall we?” suggests Kyoshi.

“Sure!”

They enter the cosy, warm cafe packed with students enjoying a hot drink. The nearby pond is covered with dried leaves from the bordering trees, the leaves gently sailing across, aided by the cool autumn breeze, like tiny paper boats in shades of orange, yellow, red and brown. The pair manage to seat themselves at a table with two empty chairs where they hunker down to complete some of their assignments for around an hour and a half, silently cherishing each other’s presence.

“Well, I have a lecture starting at 4 and it's at a new place so I'm going to head out now. See you at 7, Rangi!” Kyoshi smiles and waves as she takes the exit near to the pond.

“All right! See you soon, Kyoshi. I lov-“ Rangi replies only to be cut off when Kyoshi makes a hasty exit, cheeks red, but this time it isn't the cold causing it.

_What in the world were you thinking to announce that in the open!? Bloody hell!_ Rangi hides her blushing face in her palms. She feels the great need to bury herself in a hole for eternity but she has to leave for her 5 pm lecture which isn't far from where she currently is.

_Can’t wait to see her at 7_ , she thinks as her heart thumps with excitement and with a hint of fear of how her friend would react to her true feelings.

Kyoshi comes back to her little studio apartment around 5:25, tired but glad that the weekend is here. She places her backpack under her desk to avoid kicking it, hangs her coat on the wall-mounted coat hanger, goes to refresh herself, and then pads off to prepare some <em>zhá jiàng miàn</em> so she could finish her leftover vegetables which will accompany the fresh ground beef and thick wheat noodles.

When she's done preparing her dinner and begins to plate the hot noodles, her phone pings on her desk. <em>Could it be Rangi?</em> Kyoshi wonders as she moves to check it.

💗💖✊😩💞💘

Back in my room! Thankfully not too crowded. Will freshen up and come over soon

**Bi Disaster** ☣ 

Sure! I have some leftover _zhá jiàng miàn_ just for you 

💗💖✊😩💞💘

Thank you, Kyoshi 😄 Will be at around 7:10, just a bit tired

**Bi Disaster** ☣ 

It’s alright! See you soon 😄 

💗💖✊😩💞💘

See ya 🤗

Keeping her phone aside, Kyoshi grabs her bowl and settles in bed, the novel _The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires_ on her tablet with her favourite koto piece, Four Seasons in Kyoto, quietly playing in the background. It begins to drizzle outside, the gentle pitter-patter compliments the music and the warm light from her lamp.

“This feels just right.” Kyoshi says with a tone of satisfaction.

Three soft knocks are heard at the door as kyoshi finishes with the dishes. She opens the door, trying to act as natural as possible when she looks at Rangi standing outside — damp from the rain, dressed in her PJs and holding her journal.

“You may enter my humble abode.” Kyoshi jokingly bows, her hand stretched to gesture her friend to come in.

“I am very honoured, your eminence.” Rangi plays along with her friend’s joke and bows.

Their giggles turn into laughter as Rangi enters and Kyoshi closes the door behind her.

“Say, why are you in your pajamas?” Kyoshi notices it after laughing.

“You haven’t taken note that this accommodation is split into 4 blocks and I live in the one opposite to yours, hmm?” Rangi looks at Kyoshi, an eyebrow raised and arms in akimbo.

“No.” Kyoshi replies, looking bashful for not noticing where she lives.

Kyoshi's lingering embarrassment dissipates when Rangi hugs her and says, “Don’t sweat it! Anyways, I am starving. Where's that _zhá jiàng miàn_ you promised me?”

“Yes, I'll get you some right now! Don’t forget to take off your shoes and hoodie.”

“I know, I know.” Rangi takes off her shoes and keeps it near Kyoshi’s large brown boots and hangs her black hoodie on the hook next to a gray trench coat.

Rangi gets a warm bowl full of _zhá jiàng miàn_ and sits down at her friend’s desk.

Kyoshi lets her hair down from her usual hairstyle with her back turned to Rangi and ties it up into a messy bun with one hand using a pair of black chopsticks. Rangi stares at her friend’s hair bun, her exposed neck, and her toned, broad shoulders and arms. She is absolutely taken by Kyoshi’s beauty.

“I don’t have to turn around to know that your eyes are on me.” Kyoshi smugly points out with her back still facing Rangi, arms crossed.

Rangi snaps out of her trance and notices that she has not yet started eating and immediately starts digging into her bowl and blurts out “I was just waiting for it to cool down!”

“I don’t think it was that hot when I served it and I did not hear you eating.”

“Well...I was looking at my phone!”

“Rangi, your phone's on my bed.”

Rangi admits defeat, focusing back on the bowl of _zhá jiàng miàn_ while Kyoshi tries to stifle her amused giggles.

_Looks like Kyoshi has mastered neutral jing._ Rangi makes a crucial observation while she eats, still surprised by her observant friend.

“Okay. Question. If I marry you, would you make this for me everyday?” Rangi coyly asks as she moves around Kyoshi to the kitchen.

"Marry you?!" Kyoshi stutters out, her face a bright red.

"Is that a yes then?" Rangi asks over her shoulder, a teasing smile on her lips.

"Um...yeah? But what would I get in return?" Kyoshi moves to lean her hip against the counter near Rangi.

Rangi watches Kyoshi out of the corner of her eye for a second as she says, "Hm, what would you like?"

Kyoshi's heart skips a beat at the question, unsure of what to say. "I would like for us to get back to work." she manages to get out before moving away, too flustered to give Rangi a proper answer. She wanted to ask for a kiss. Maybe more? But didn't know how Rangi would react to such a bold request.

After a fulfilling dinner, they start on their journal work, recording everything they had done earlier in the day. Kyoshi sits on her bed as she does her work since Rangi comandeered the table for herself, not that she minded one bit.

Once they're done, Kyoshi picks up her tablet to continue reading her novel but not before asking Rangi if she wanted to stay. Not really wanting to leave yet, Rangi moves to join Kyoshi on the bed, laying her head on her lap while she plays with Kyoshi's hand. It was oddly soft for someone who does a whole lot of cleaning.

“Your hands are pretty big.” Rangi quietly observes from her place in Kyoshi's lap.

"Well, they're definitely bigger than your itty-bitty baby hands."

"Hey!"

The two laugh but tone it down a bit when they realise it is already past 10.

Kyoshi and Rangi hold hands, their fingers slowly intertwining while Kyoshi reads with a smile. They feel at peace and can truly be themselves. Nothing to hold back.

An hour or so passes.

“My lips are feeling chapped from this awfully cold weather. May I have some lip balm, Kyoshi?” Rangi looks at her friend who is buried in her novel.

“Sure! I have some.” Kyoshi points to her lips, trying to contain her laughter while Rangi has a quizzical look on her face. Kyoshi tries to convey her feelings indirectly but it flops.

“Just kidding! I will go get some.” She moves to get up, gently lifting Rangi’s head off her lap to get the tin of lip balm on her work desk.

As soon as she turns back around, Rangi steps in front of Kyoshi, slowly closing the gap between them. She delicately laces her fingers over Kyoshi’s neck to bring her closer. Rangi gets on her tiptoes to compensate for her short height and places a small gentle peck on Kyoshi’s lips, a rather bold move. Rangi could already feel Kyoshi’s neck and her own face get hot and she hesitantly steps back to see Kyoshi’s startled expression. The tin of lip balm leaves her hand, landing with a soft thud on the carpeted floor and rolls away under the desk.

“I know that was sudden but...I sort of have feelings for you, Kyoshi. For a long time, _really_.” Rangi looks down at her feet with her hands balled into fists and feeling absolutely flustered. Her eyes well with tears thinking that Kyoshi is not going to forgive her. Kyoshi moves closer and Rangi immediately looks up, noticing the shy smile gracing her lips. Kyoshi tenderly cups Rangi’s face in her palms to brush the tears away with her thumbs. She lovingly looks at her and says “I do feel the same for you, too, Rangi.”

Kyoshi wraps her arms around Rangi’s waist and lifts her off the floor with ease and kisses her. It lasts longer than the first. Slow and passionate.

“'m sleepy.” Rangi says mid-kiss, her eye-lids feeling heavy. The taste of sweet almond and rose from Kyoshi’s lip balm lingers in her mouth.

“Me, too.”

Kyoshi instructs Rangi to put her arms around her neck and shifts her into a bridal-style carry. She lays Rangi on her bed, takes out the chopsticks from her hair bun, and lies down beside her with the lights out. Kyoshi stretches her left arm to pull Rangi close to cuddle her. Rangi’s head nuzzles close and Kyoshi could feel her breathy exhales, warm against the skin of her neck. A perfect cocoon in the cold tranquil night.

Kyoshi plants a kiss on a sleeping Rangi’s forehead, closes her eyes and dozes off, her heart and soul feeling lighter from inhaling Rangi’s plumeria scented hair.

_So this is what love feels like, huh?_

That was Kyoshi’s final thought before falling asleep.

At long last, they finally opened their hearts to each other.

**_Saturday, 10 am_ **

Warm sunlight pours into the room. Large cumulus clouds cast shadows over passers-by as they sail slowly across the blue sky. It did not look as busy when compared to the weekdays because most of the people went to the pubs last night and got absolutely smashed with their pals.

Rangi, being the big spoon, finds her right arm and leg across Kyoshi’s body as she wakes up, carefully as to not wake the other. She walks towards the window, feeling the warmth of the sun as she stretches and reties her topknot. The people and vehicles appear like figures in a diorama that came to life as she looks out from the 9th floor. It appeared scenic with the trees bearing leaves in varying autumnal shades. Rangi spots a rabbit running from one bush to another located within the big grassy patch which belongs to the dorm.

_Aww! So adorable. I don’t get to see these little guys from my block._ Rangi gets excited to look for more rabbits. They tend to hide very well and almost look like motionless rocks at a glance from a height and their fur coats blend with the soil.

Rangi feels two arms hugging her from behind, surprised to know that Kyoshi has woken up. She is not usually a morning person and is always in a deep slumber. But this time it’s different.

Kyoshi kisses Rangi’s neck and asks “Slept well?”.

“I definitely did.” Rangi replies and gives her a peck on the cheek.

They stand there for a while, cherishing the moment they are sharing. Their love for each other made them feel just as warm as the sun did.

Afterwards, Rangi goes to the desk to collect her belongings so she could return back to her room and freshen up. Kyoshi ties up her hair with the chopsticks near her bedside and goes to brush her teeth. The pair eventually head out to the elevator.

“I hope we don’t see Kirima anywhere.” Kyoshi presses the button to go to the ground floor and the doors close.

“Don’t worry, she doesn’t live around here.”

“I sure do hope so.”

“Hopefully we don’t jinx it.”

Once they reach the ground floor, Kirima stands near the elevator with her groceries and spots them as the doors open. They look stunned and start turning red as they get out of the lift.

_What does the universe have against me this time?!_ Kyoshi could feel her soul get on it’s knees, yelling and shaking it’s fists at the sky. Rangi looks unamused at Kirima, ready to take all the teasing.

“Well, well, well! Didn’t expect to see you guys here. Hope you two slept well?” Kirima has a mischievous smile and wiggles her eyebrows.

Kyoshi holds Rangi’s hand.

“We did sleep well.” Kyoshi replies politely but firmly. “And we are together, too.” Rangi continues, looking back at Kyoshi.

“Okay guys! You don’t have to get all defensive. I am not the kind of person who outs others and makes fun of you for that, trust me. I am actually happy for you two oblivious love nerds.” Kirima for once sounded a bit serious.

“Thank you for your understanding but, we are not oblivious.” Rangi responds.

“Yes you were~ I saw it all and you dum-dums were in a lot of denial.”

“Nuh-uh!”

“Yuh-uh!”

“Why do you have to be so annoying?”

“Just accept it, I am right. See you love nerds soon!” Kirima enters the lift. _Love nerds sure does have a ring to it._ She thought as the door closes.

“Well...that wasn’t so bad. She was being nice than most people are nowadays.” Kyoshi looks happily at a pouting Rangi.

“Fine, you are right. Let’s get going, shall we?”

“Okay.”

Kyoshi and Rangi leave the block, feeling happy that they have each other. That’s all they care about.

“Can we go on a date somewhere this week? Say Tuesday at my place, 6 pm?” Rangi asks.

“Sounds perfect to me.” Kyoshi smiles at her.

They both hug and return to their blocks. They turn around just to see each other one last time before they got back to their rooms.

_She makes me so happy._ They both thought.

**Author's Note:**

> **Glossary (in order of appearance):**
> 
> Sci-hub and Lib-Gen (library genesis)- Best places to get scientific articles and books for free, respectively. Also try Z-library and wish4book for getting books (fiction, academic, etc.) too. 
> 
> Plasmids- Circular-shaped DNA structures found naturally in bacteria and are used frequently by molecular biologists to make them express genes of their choice, in this case, Nef
> 
> Empty Plasmid- Just a plasmid that does not express Nef, only GFP or green fluorescent protein 
> 
> Nef and Nef A plasmids- The former expresses a non-mutated version of Nef (aka wild-type) and the latter expresses a mutated Nef protein
> 
> FuGENE HD- An agent used for transporting foreign DNA to cells during transfection 
> 
> Opti-MEM- A solution that creates a reduced serum environment leaving the cells happy and increasing chances of transfection. 
> 
> HeLa cells- Taken from Henrietta Lacks during her cervical screening without her consent by the doctor. These cancer cells are immortal (one of the features in cancers), making them decent candidates like other cancer cell-lines, for tissue culture experiments. More on Wikipedia 👀
> 
> Virkon- A disinfectant used at labs to cleanse any single-use items like plastic tubes and flasks before sending them off for proper disposal. It is usually sold as a pale pink powder which can be mixed with distilled water before carrying out experiments or the powder can be directly added to the samples like leftover bacterial cultures and later mixing in some hot water (smells like **shit**, please take my word)
> 
> Pipette- An instrument used for dispensing very small or large volumes of liquid and there are various types available. In this fic, micropipettes were used. Choosing a correct kind of pipette with a specific volume range is important otherwise volume errors can occur or excess liquid entering it can cause damage. A single pipette costs like an arm and a leg.
> 
> Confocal microscopes with lasers- Controlling and caring them requires serious skill. Mishandling such a piece of equipment can land up destroying its essential components and frying up your specimen.


End file.
